Mayuri Bhandari Begins Edinburgh Fringe Run of THE ANTI ‘YOGI’
4 min read
Are you worthy of the Goddess’s blessings? Or her wrath?
This week in Scotland, Mayuri Bhandari begins a 21 performance run of her highly acclaimed tour de force The Anti ‘Yogi’ presented by Fringe Management at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Mayuri and Kali, the Goddess of Death navigate the absurdities of Western Yoga culture. Liberation, not Lululemon!
Directed by D’Lo and Shyamala Moorty (who is also the choreographer & dramaturg), Bhandari beautifully blends dance, drama, comedy, poetry and live percussion by renowned musician Neel Agrawal. The Anti ‘Yogi’ takes a critical look at cultural appropriation, commodification and colonization in Western yoga by amplifying the South Asian voice.
After a sold out run and six award nominations at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival where it was the winner of the FRINGE AWARD FOR DANCE AND PHYSICAL THEATRE and also awarded the ZEPHYR’S ZEST AWARD, the show is set to open Friday, August 1st and will run through Saturday, August 23rd.
“The Anti Yogi is a masterful performance and its message has never been more timely. In short, you’re not going to want to miss this show; it’s a standout production” (Dan Ruth, LA HIDDEN GEMS)
Mayuri Bhandari
Mayuri Bhandari is an actress, dancer/figure skater, and storyteller within Hollywood and Bollywood. She is the first South Asian to showcase figure skating on Indian National Television, and a national figure skating champion. She fuses Bollywood within the sport with her “Bollywood on Ice” YouTube Channel and does Yoga Comedy. Mayuri has appeared in popular Indian TV shows like “Dare 2 Dance”; and has worked with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Hrithik Roshan. She has starred in film and television shows, including Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), Hacks (HBO), Dave (FX/Hulu), Rebel (ABC), Nightingale (Prime) and Dare 2 Dance (Life OK). Her voice-over includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony), Ms. Marvel (Disney), Shantaram (Apple), and Netflix. She narrates audiobooks with Penguin Random House. Bhandari has starred in theater productions including Clown Bar at the Hudson Theater and AA Sketch at the Ruskin Theater in Los Angeles. Her poetry film BINDI received international recognition at film festivals and her work has been featured at the United Nations (Los Angeles Chapter). Her art-ivism voices women’s empowerment, Brown identity, indigenous rights, and environmental activism. Bhandari holds a B.A. in Dance and South Asian Studies (UC Berkeley) as well as an M.A. in Yoga Studies (Loyola Marymount University). She is currently an adjunct professor in Yoga and Bollywood Dance at LMU.
Director, D’Lo
D’Lo is a queer/trans Ilangai Tamil-American actor/writer/comic. He is a teacher/mentor/producer for writers working in film and theater. He has dramaturg’d/directed solo artists since 2010. His solo shows have toured theaters & festivals internationally, including a 2022 run at CTG’s Kirk Douglas Theater of To T, or not To T?. His work has been published and/or written about in academic journals, literary anthologies, as well as print/online journalism sources, including NPR’s CodeSwitch, LA Times, The Guardian, NBC, CNN and The Advocate. His acting credits include: LOOKING, TRANSPARENT, SENSE 8, Mr. ROBOT, CONNECTING, QUANTUM LEAP and Billy Eichner’s BROS. D’Lo is a Senior Civic Media Fellow through USC’s Annenberg Innovation Lab funded by the MacArthur Foundation, and is a Sherwood Awardee through Center Theater Group.
Director, Choreographer & Dramaturg Shyamala Moorty
Shyamala Moorty is an award winning director, choreographer and dramaturg who values collaboration, connection and transformation through the arts. Her live performance work has toured internationally and draws on dance, theater, multimedia, and community engagement. Her two short films have won multiple awards and are currently showing on the film festival circuit. Shyamala has worked as an ensemble member and core artist with TeAda Productions where she created two acclaimed solo shows. She is a founding member of both the Post Natyam Collective and the Dancing Storytellers, and has also created work and performed with Great Leap, the Rangoli Foundation, and as a principal dancer for the AMAN International Folk Dance and Music Ensemble. Shyamala teaches choreography at California State University Long Beach and is also a performance doula and coach.
Percussionist, Neel Agrawal
Neel Agrawal, is a percussionist performing with leading musicians including L. Shankar, Lord Huron, and Young the Giant. In 2022, Neel was recognized by former Mayor of LA Eric Garcetti for his work in South Asian arts, education, and advocacy. Neel is a recipient of the 2021 COLA Individual Master Artist Grant from the LA Department of Cultural Affairs and the 2023 LA County Performing Arts Recovery Grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation. He also completed a fellowship at the Harvard Library Innovation Lab for his groundbreaking project on African Drumming Laws and was the featured musician on an urban arts and education tour of India sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Additionally, Neel was awarded two national drumming awards from Percussive Arts Society and currently serves as Director of Percussion at the Los Angeles International Music and Arts Academy.
If you’re lucky enough to be in Edinburgh in August, go see this show. It runs the 1st through 21st at Jade Studio on Greenside at George Street and you may find tickets HERE. You can show your support for the production by donating HERE.
